Tack Room Romance
by Connie Welsh
Summary: ABANDONED Hermione loves horses. She rides at a stable near her every summer. But this year, she meets someone there that she never expected. Can the two riders learn to get along? DMHG, AU No HBP or DH canon.
1. Average Day

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the rights to Harry Potter. I do own the following characters and places mentioned in this chapter: Sandy Walker, Alexander Walker, Vixen, and Juniper Stable.

**Summery:** Hermione _loves_ horses. Every summer, she rides at a stable near her. But one day, she meets someone there that she never expected, Draco Malfoy! Little did she know, he was a horse nut too! What lay in store for these now fellow riders? Read on to find out!

**A/N:** I'm _really_ bad at writing summaries. Anyway, this is my first DM/HG ship, so please be patient with me because I'm just hoping that I get my characters i.c. enough to satisfy everybody. Also, I rated this fic. PG-13 because of the language. At least so far that is. I might change the rating to R as the fic. continues on, but I'm not sure yet.

Chapter 1  
Average Day

"I'm going to the stable Mom!" Hermione called through the house, grabbing her keys on the table and walking briskly towards the front door.

"Just be back in time for dinner!" Her mother called back from upstairs, "Be careful! Ride safe! Remember to wear a helmet!"

"Don't worry Mom, I always do!" Hermione called before closing the front door behind her.

Hermione Granger, just out of her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, took a deep breath of the fresh morning air as she unlocked the shed and grabbed her bike, then headed for Juniper Stable.

Hermione peddled quickly. She wanted to get there early so she could give Vixen a thorough grooming before they set off for a day of trail riding.

Skidding to a halt before the bike-rack, Hermione quickly chained her bike to it, then dashed into the stable.

"Hey there beautiful girl!" she called to Vixen.

Vixen replied with a loud, friendly whinny, poking her head out of her stall.

Hermione gave her horse friend a big hug, burying her head in Vixen's mane and inhaling that wonderful, musty, horse smell.

"You ready to go for a ride girl?" Hermione asked the horse, stroking her forelock lovingly.

Vixen bobbed her head excitingly, seeming to say, "You bet! Let's get going!"

Hermione laughed and kissed the horse on her velvet nose before scurrying of to the tack room to get her grooming supplies and tack.

After carefully brushing Vixen's coat to a shine, Hermione quickly but carefully tacked her up. Finally, she began leading her down the isle of stalls.

"I will never understand that horse!" someone called to them as they past the tack room.

Hermione paused at the doorway and looked to see who had spoken. It was Sandy.

"Hey there Sandy. How are things?" she asked cheerfully.

Sandy Walker was the owner of the stable, and a very cheerful guy. Twenty-two years old, he had just recently inherited the stable from his father. He was a quite attractive young man; his hair was a shinny wheat-gold, and he had the bluest eyes Hermione had ever seen in her life. Many of the girls that rode there had a crush on him, and some girls just hung out there to see him, never mind the horses. Sandy's only loves at the moment however, were his horses. He had spent his whole life around them and this stable, and loved every horse there.

"Can't complain," he said shrugging, "Except that damned horse you got there. She nearly bit my ear off the other day when I passed to closely to her stall! I swear, if you and her didn't get along so well, I would've sold her to a glue factory by now." He said sourly.

"Sandy!" Hermione cried, "You wouldn't do that! Especially since Vixen was your father's favorite horse."

Sandy smiled and laughed, "Oh you know I wouldn't do that! I could never do that to any horse, not even Vixen, as tempting as it sounds sometimes. Anyway, where are you two going to today?"

"Don't know yet," Hermione replied truthfully.

"Well, just be careful. See you around 'Mione." Sandy said cheerfully before ducking back into the tack room again.

"See you around Sandy," Hermione said with a small wave, continuing towards the open back of the stable and towards the forest that concealed the many interesting trails of the Juniper Stable land.

Hermione turned to her horse.

"You get yourself into all kinds of trouble, don't you?" she asked the big mare.

Vixen bobbed her head again and Hermione laughed.

Vixen was a legend at Juniper's. Known for her meanness, temper, and stubbornness, no rider, save Hermione and Alexander Walker (Sandy's father), had ever been able to ride her with out being bucked off or bitten at some point or another. Standing about 16 hands high, the thoroughbred was a deep chestnut color with a white star on her forelock.

Once outside, Hermione mounted and petted the big horse's neck and asked, "So girly-girl, where do you think we should totter off to today? What do you say to a pass through the Apple Grove and then on to Lyra Lake?"

The horse whinnied and nodded, and Hermione laughed.

"On to Apple Grove then!"

**A/N:** This is just an introductory chapter to show you all what Hermione's day is usually like, just so you get the feel of the setting. I also couldn't figure out how to tie-in the next part of the story into the first chapter, so I just put it in the second chapter and posted them both at the same time. Go me.

Stable/Horse Terms Used Thus Far:

Grooming- brushing/combing a horse's mane, tail, and coat.

Tack Room- a room that holds riding equipment.

Tack- bridle and saddle. (Therefore, to 'tack up' is to put the tack on the horse, and to 'un-tack' is to take it off. Catching the trend?)

Hands- the measurement used to measure the height of a horse/pony. A horse/pony is measured from the ground to its withers (shoulder). One hand is equal to four inches, (10.2 cm) and a horse must be at least 14.2 hands or taller to be considered a horse. Anything below that and it is termed a pony.

Forelock- Section of mane that falls forward between the ears. (Like bangs, otherwise known as fringe.)

I think that's pretty much all the harder terms, any others I think you all know. If you _do_ have any questions, relating to horses or otherwise, just leave it for me in a review. Tootles for now then.


	2. Newfound Foes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Harry Potter. I do own the following characters and places in this story: Joyce, Lollypop, Armand, and Carlo's Pizza Parlor.

**A/N:** Just so you all know, this takes place later in the afternoon of the day you all read about in the previous chapter. (Is that a run-on sentence…?) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 2  
Newfound Foes

Hermione patted Vixen's neck encouragingly as they neared the stable, slowing to a walk.

Hermione's bushy brown hair was windblown and her eyes were watering. They had been galloping down Butterfly Trail at full speed, wind whooshing past with a roar.

"_Damn!_" Hermione said breathlessly to her horse, "You could be a racer at the speeds you go, I swear," she told Vixen, patting the horse's sweaty neck lovingly.

It was noon by now, and Juniper Stable was now busy with riders and horses.

"What did you do to Vixen?" Joyce, a fellow rider Hermione was friendly with, called to her from the stall just inside the door, "She looks as if she's about to fall over! You galloped her, didn't you?"

"Hell yes!" Hermione replied, dismounting, "She's a hell of a runner too, so why not?"

Joyce just laughed and continued to brush Lollypop, the Appaloosa sweetheart of the stable. Lollypop and Vixen were polar opposites of each other's personality. Vixen constantly picked on poor Lollypop whenever she got the chance, and only Hermione could make her behave herself.

Weaving through the small crowds of riders and horses, Hermione led Vixen into her stall to un-tack.

Slipping Vixen's bridle off, Hermione caught a glimpse of blond hair in the stall next to Vixen's.

"Someone's finally assigned to Armand," she noted silently. Curious, she stood on tiptoe to try and see what they looked like. She was out of luck however, for whoever it was was kneeling down on Armand's right side, checking Armand's hooves. So instead, she ducked under Vixen's head and left the stall, coming to stand in the doorway of Armand's.

"_Malfoy?_" she cried incredulously and Draco looked up with a start.

Hermione noted how very odd it looked to see him dressed in muggle clothes. She had only ever seen him in wizard robes, but now he was wearing a blood-red tee shirt and cream-colored breeches with jet-black, (and extremely expensive looking) leather knee-length riding boots. His shoulder-length bleach-blond hair fell elegantly across his pale face, and he shook it impatiently out of his eyes.

"_Granger?_" he replied, just as shocked as she was, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question ferret," she replied coolly, folding her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrows inquisitively at him.

He scowled deeply at the nickname the Gryffindors had given him in his fourth year.

"Watch your mouth mudblood," he replied dangerously, standing.

Completely undaunted, she stared defiantly into those icy grey eyes of his and snorted a laugh.

"You don't scare me ferret, and incase you haven't noticed, being called that doesn't bother me anymore. I decided a long time ago that there are much worse fates than being called names by a stuck up, aristocratic, spoiled little brat like you, so your shit out of luck."

Of course, there was nothing "little" about Draco anymore. He was extremely tall now, even taller than his father, and was rather muscular, no longer shrimpy and skinny like he had been in his younger years. Ron was still taller though, Hermione noticed.

Hermione smiled inwardly as his scowl deepened.

"Fuck off mudblood," he growled, returning his attentions to Armand's hooves.

"Gladly," she retorted, turning on her heel and returning to Vixen's stall to finish un-tacking.

"God I hate him!" she seethed silently to herself, "That arrogant, self-absorbed, nasty little prick!"

Vixen nipped lightly at her in irritation when she accidentally hit Vixen's legs with the girth in her anger.

"Sorry," she told the mare, grabbing the girth and carefully folding it up to rest on the seat of the saddle as she removed it from the horse's back.

Vixen snorted in reply, turning her head back to face the isle and watch the horse in the stall across from her get tacked up.

She made curtain to not even glance at Malfoy as she left Vixen's stall a few minutes later to put the tack back in the tack room and to fetch some oats for Vixen as a treat.

About a half and hour later, Hermione sat thinking over a slice of spinach pizza and a Dr. Pepper at Carlo's Pizza Parlor, a popular pizzeria that almost all the riders from Juniper Stable went to for lunch everyday because it was only a block away, including her.

"Why the hell is Malfoy at Juniper's?" she asked herself, sipping her Dr. Pepper through a straw and watching the people entering and exiting through the door, "I thought he hated everything to do with muggles, and horseback riding is about one of the most muggle-ish activities I can think of. Wizards ride brooms for fun, muggles ride horses and bikes for fun, it just doesn't make sense that he's here. And why here, of all the stables in England?"

Hermione sighed exasperatingly, "Maybe he's here just to torment me," she thought, "that's something he'd do."

"I don't think so," the voice of reason in her head told her wisely, "he seemed to really know what he was doing back there, and I don't think he would have learned all about horsemanship just to make your life difficult."

"Hmmm…" Hermione muttered out-loud, biting into her pizza. That was a good point.

Hermione growled in her throat. What was wrong with her? Why did she care? Malfoy was there and there was nothing she could do about it and as long as she kept her distance from him, she wouldn't think or care about him. She wouldn't let him ruin her summer vacation. She'd ignore him and everything would be fine.

But Hermione soon found out that that would cease to be an option.

**A/N:** I realize now that I read this over again that Malfoy wasn't exactly up to his usual fighting prime, but I decided to leave it as is because of the fact that he's going to get a hell of a lot nastier in the next few chapters, so I'll save the muggle-born bashing and verbal harassment for later.

Horse/Stable Terms:

Appaloosa- dark spots on a white coat. (Similar to a Dalmatian's coat.)

Breeches- tight fitting riding pants.

Girth- a broad strap fastened around a horse's belly to keep the saddle on.

As always, any questions about anything to do with this story can be left for me in a review. Tootles!


	3. Wizard Crackers

**Disclaimer:** Oh you know this part already.

**Summery:** You know this already too.

**A/N:** Hey everyone, guess what? I was reading up on my equine knowledge, and made this discovery: The kind of stable that I have featured in this fanfiction is not commonly found in the U.K.! Actually, there are stables called American Stables and British Stables, and each is designed differently. And well… oh hell I'll just give you the descriptions I found in _Horse and Pony Care_, by Sandy Ransford:

American Barn (which is what is featured in my story): A long barn that is divided into box stalls with a central aisle is called an American barn. It is convenient in bad weather, but there can be problems with ventilation.

British stables: Typically found in the U.K., each stall opens onto a central courtyard called the yard, which lets the horses see what is going on. An overhanging roof gives the horses (and people) some protection from sun and rain.

I thought about re-writing my story to be more accurate, but I decided that I'd rather not change one of the upcoming scenes in the story to fit this bit of information, so… yeah. By the way, cheers to all my lovely reviewers, I love you guys! Sorry, I'm rambling now. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 3  
Wizard Crackers

Hermione seethed in silent anger as she looked at her riding gloves. She was sure that she was going to cave in and _kill_ Malfoy before the end of the summer. This little prank of putting horse manure in her riding gloves was the fourth prank he had pulled on her this week already, and it was only the second week of summer! On top of that, she was willing to bet all her school supplies, including her wand, that it wasn't going to be the last.

_What the hell was his problem?_ She never bothered him! Ever! Not at school, and not at the stable, so why, _why_, did he insist on being such an arrogant bastard to her all the time? She had even contemplated on "accidentally" pouring hoof oil on his fancy leather-riding boots, but thought better of it. She was sixteen after all, and was past the childish antics that her foe seemed to be so fond of. Plus the fact that it was a waste of hoof oil.

Taking calming breaths, she carefully stuffed the smelly gloves into her backpack to bring home and wash when she left later that afternoon. If Malfoy kept this up, she was going to have to tell Sandy, who she knew would never put up with such pompous behavior. For the moment however, she was just going to ignore him and hope that he would see that he wasn't bothering her and all she had to wait for then was for him to become bored with it and finally give up.

What to do in the meantime though…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Draco carried a sly smirk on his face as he and Armand cantered smoothly down Eagle Hawk Run.

He felt rather good these days. His father was still in Azkaban (that in itself wasn't at all pleasant, but hey, silver lining), he was able to come to the stable anytime he wanted because if it, and he had Granger to terrorize. Life was rather good, given the circumstances.

Draco slowed Armand to a stop as they came upon Lyra Lake. Patting the black stallion's neck he dismounted, letting the big horse walk into the water to drink.

With a sigh he sat in the sand, watching Armand prance around in the water, then bend his head down to drink.

Yes, life was good.

_I wonder if Granger found her gloves yet,_ Draco wondered to himself, grinning maliciously at the thought before getting up to catch Armand and heading back towards Juniper Sable via Butterfly Trail.

Draco's eyes lit up as he neared the stable, for Granger was in one of the riding rings with Vixen, completely unaware of his return.

_Oh this is too perfect_, he thought evilly, dismounting and reaching into his saddlebag. He had been waiting to use this.

Tying Armand's reins to a branch of a nearby tree, Draco crept off the trail and crouched behind some bushes.

He watched Granger eagerly as she came nearer to his hiding place, trotting Vixen beautifully. He had to admit, though she was annoying, she was a good rider.

"Three… two… one…" he counted down quietly, then pulled the ends of the wizard cracker in his hands.

With the sound of a gunshot it went off, and just as planned, Vixen spooked.

"Whoa!" he heard Granger shout as Vixen reared in fright, then bolted.

Scooping up the furry white mouse that had come from the cracker in a puff of purple smoke, he dashed back towards Armand and cantered down the remainder of the trail to get a clear view of the entertainment.

Granger could be seen clutching to Vixen's neck as the mare galloped full speed towards the fence of the ring. In a brief flash of panic, Draco wondered if Vixen would be able to clear the fence. He couldn't care less about what happened to Granger, but he didn't want Vixen to get hurt. His trouble was eased however when the big mare easily jumped the fence, Hermione clinging on for dear life to the horse's neck as Vixen catapulted herself towards the barn.

Draco's fun was short lived however, when someone, upon seeing her distress, shouted "PULLEY REIN!"

Suddenly remembering, Granger used the pulley rein. Slowly Vixen's speed decreased as she pulled back on the reins, turning Vixen in a tight circle and finally managing to come to a halt within yards of the barn entrance as someone rushed over to her to see if she was ok.

_Damn_, Draco thought, _she seemed so terrified too._

Draco walked Armand gracefully towards the stables with a sly smirk on his face.

"I'm quite surprised at you Granger," he said coolly when he reached her, dismounting, "letting your horse get out of control like that. Tsk, tsk."

She threw him a dark look as she dismounted, then did a double take. She looked at the white mouse in his hand then at his sly smirk of self-satisfaction, piecing together what had happened.

"_You!_" she finally hissed furiously, "You stupid, conceited, egotistical, selfish, obnoxious, bastard!"

"That's a lot of adjectives Miss Granger," Draco replied calmly, unfazed by her rant of anger.

"You are such a complete prick!" she continued as though she had not heard him, dropping Vixen's reins and marching angrily up to him, "You could have killed someone! What if I had not been able to stop Vixen from charging into the barn? She could have trampled someone to death, or hurt herself, or hurt me! Do you have any idea what serious accidents could have happened by setting that thing off! DO YOU TAKE PLEASURE IN KNOWING THERE WAS A CHANCE OF KILLING SOMEONE YOU PSYCHOPATHIC FREAK DEATH EATER!"

"Not just yet Granger," he sneered, showing her the inside of his left arm. There would be no false accusations in this argument.

"That's not the point!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in exasperation, "The point is, I could have Sandy throw you out for pulling something like that!"

"Then why don't you then!" he snapped back casually, "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have you chained to a wall to keep you from going and ratting on me. Or maybe you're just too afraid to mess with me without fucking Golden Boy Potty and the Weasel King here to protect you? I don't blame you Granger, I wouldn't want to mess with me either."

_Slap!_ Granger belted him across the face with the palm of her hand, nearly knocking him over. He had not suspected a physical attack.

"How _dare_ you!" she hissed furiously, "How dare you bring Harry and Ron into this! How dare you think I need their protection! This is between you and me Malfoy, don't you dare try and make it about them!"

Recovering from the unexpected blow, he ignored her furious words and grabbed her arms firmly in his grasp, digging his fingernails into her flesh. The white mouse, which he dropped, scurried off into the stable. He never found out what happened to it. He suspected a barn cat got to it. Ah well.

"Don't you dare touch me you filthy mudblood whore!" he spat dangerously, "In school you may have the upper hand with Potty and the Weasel always at your beck and call. But here in the muggle world," he lowered his voice to a dangerous purr, "you're on your own. I suggest you tread carefully Granger, I really do. You'd do well to learn quickly that angering me is not a smart move."

Draco scowled when she gave him an unimpressed look.

"You are absolutely vile," she finally replied nastily, twisting out of his grasp. She then turned on her heel, grabbed Vixen's reins, and stormed into the stable, seething in anger as her arms smarted painfully.

Outside, Draco smirked, despite the pain in his cheek. He loved making Granger snap, it always proved such interesting reactions. Not to mention it was always a nice challenge.

"Even the strongest branch can be broken, if you know where to apply the pressure," he found himself quoting softly, then gave a slight scowl of disgust. That was a favorite saying of his father's, and though he was right, it pained Draco to admit so, even to himself.

To be continued in Chapter 4!

**A/N:** Told you he'd get nastier. Not as nasty as I've seen him get in other stories, I'll admit, but I personally don't think I did too bad with the insults. This chapter gave me some issues for a while. I was conflicted on who I wanted to win this fight, Draco or Hermione. I ended up writing three different endings before I felt I had explored all my options on where this argument could go and still remain mostly on the topic of Draco nearly getting Hermione killed; I didn't want to stray into Death Eater waters just yet. Anywho, as always, reviews are appreciated, questions always welcome to be answered, and flames strongly rejected. Cheers.

P.S. Whoops, I almost forgot, the best definition I could find of a pulley rein is: a powerful, emergency rein. If anyone has a better definition, please let me know. I think that's all the iffy horse terms. Cheers.

P.P.S. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I changed the rating from PG-13 to R because of a _way_ later chapter, but I thought I'd change it now anyway.


	4. What Lies Within

**A/N:** Ok, I know I'm really bad and haven't answered any reviews. So before I forget to do so, I'm going to take the time to answer every one of my reviewers. I love you guys.

Charolastras- My very first reviewer! Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far, but as it was said in the movie _The Jazz Player_, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

Dragonmaster Kurai- Lucky dog, owns a horse. :sulks: Thanks for your review, and sorry for any misconceptions about Lollypop.

Michelle and Kiba- :feels loved: Thanks Shelly, glad you like my stuff. I'll be sure to read your story now that you've revamped it. See you at high school!

Athena-Quicksilver- Yay! Another person absolutely nutters for horses! "Grooming: the fine art of removing hair (and dirt and all that jazz) from one's horse and applying it to one self." Interesting concept.

Laura- One of the best ever? My dear, if my story is one of the best, then you've not read a lot of fanfiction. Try the work of Gravity, Aleximoon, and Leyna Rountree, who you can all find in my favorites (I've got a lot of good stuff in there, explore!), and if you want to branch out a bit and go to and read some stuff on there, that's a great site. Read up on the author Anna while your there. Cheers, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about later chapters.

BonK3rs- Thanks. I'll try to update sooner!

FalconWing- You are TEH SHIZ man. Thank you so much for your thorough explanation of a pulley rein. I look forward to more equine knowledge from you when I screw up. Thank you!

cheshire-cat2391- You think Draco is evil in _this_ story? Read "The Crimson Jess" by Gravity and then tell me what Evil!Draco is. But thanks for the complement anyway.

IlOvEdRaCo4EvErHe'SmiNe- Don't worry, I'm not stopping now! And like I said to cheshire-cat2391, you don't know how evil and 'bad' Draco Malfoy can be unless you read "The Crimson Jess", by Gravity. That story gives me the shivers.

FreedomStar- You're another one who is TEH SHIZ! Thank you so much for your explanation of the pulley rein! You and FalconWing are THE BEST, and I will defiantly seek your council in the future, I just need your email address. Mine is in my profile, so email me! Cheers!

Barrelracer05- Sorry I beat you to the idea! I'm glad that you found my portrayal satisfactory, well, for the moment that is, I'm nowhere near done yet!

lazy.kender- Hilary reviewed me! Hilary reviewed me:dances: Thank you so much! It's such an honor that I'm the first Harry Potter fanfiction you've read so far! And just so you know, I'm working on a _Phantom_ one-shot I hope to finish in the near future, and I look forward to a review of that too. :wink wink: Update _The Grand Tour_! Pwease?

Cho- Yay! Another horse lover! Thanks for reading!

HermioneTheSlytherinPrincess- I try my best to write good stuff. Thanks, and I'll try to lessen the time between updates.

:takes a deep breath: There. Finally finished answering everybody's reviews. My conscience is clear. Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers. I love you guys! Cheers.

Chapter 4  
What Lies Within

_I honestly don't get him. At all. Whatsoever._ Hermione thought, watching Malfoy canter smoothly and gracefully around the riding ring, _Draco Malfoy, pureblood, Slytherin, bastard, racist… and horse riding extraordinaire?_ Hermione shook her head. Nope, it just didn't sound right. It was so… not him.

"Hey Hermione, what cha doin'?"

Hermione jumped, not hearing Joyce come up behind her.

"Oh, hey Joyce. Oh, I'm not doing anything really. What about you?"

Joyce shrugged, "Pretty much the same. What do you think about him?" Joyce asked rather randomly, nodding in Malfoy's direction.

Hermione looked back to Malfoy, scowling, "Who, Malfoy? He's an evil, spoiled prat."

Joyce chuckled, "You act as if you know him quite intimately. Do you?"

"I have the great misfortune of going to school with him. He's evil."

Joyce shrugged with indifference, "I dunno, I haven't really talked to him. He's kind of cute though, you've got to admit."

"Cute? _Cute?_" Hermione replied, flabbergasted.

"Yeah, don't you think so?" Joyce asked, surprised by the revolt in Hermione's voice.

"Joyce, he's one of the worst people I've ever had the misfortune to meet!"

"That doesn't mean he can't be attractive," Joyce pointed out with a wink.

"Joyce, I forewarn you now, don't even bother flirting with him. He's snobby, thinks he's better then us. He probably won't even acknowledge you, or worse, he'll humiliate you. Trust me on this one, I know him, and he's not worth it." Hermione warned.

Joyce just shrugged again, "Alright, alright, keep your knickers on. I won't flirt with him."

"_Good_," Hermione replied.

Joyce just shook her head; "You want to come to Carlo's with me?"

"Yeah, I guess. Be there in a minute, ok?"

"Sure."

Hermione looked back to Malfoy again. He and Armand had stopped, and he was leaning down, gently rubbing the horse's neck and softly saying praises in his ear.

Hermione just shook her head. He was grinning, being gentle; it was like he was a completely different person when he was around the horses. He would almost seem to soften around the edges, his face soft and relaxed as he smiled.

But then he looked up, and as swiftly as a traffic light he changed, becoming all razor blades and poison the instant he noticed her watching him. He scowled, then flipped her off with a cruel sneer twisting across his lips. Instantly the softness was gone, replaced by the cold, hard hate.

Hermione scowled back, turning from him and heading out to meet up with Joyce by the bike rack. So much for observing unseen.

**A/N:** Rather short chapter, I know. But it's a transitional chapter of sorts. I needed something to come between the row Draco and Hermione had in the last chapter and what happens next. And now, ladies and gentlemen, our story gets exciting. Cheers, and see you next chapter.

Hugs and kisses,  
Connie


	5. An Unexpected Rescue

**AN:** Firstly, I am SO _SO_ SORRY! I know it's been a million years since I updated anything, and I apologize. I'm hoping to make myself write more, I really do miss it. It's been about 3 years since I actually sat down and wrote _anything_, can you believe that? High time for an update. Secondly, because I started writing this back before HBP came out, I'm going to stick with the original ideas I had for it, which will make it an AU I realize. But it will just work better without incorporating the canon in HBP and DH. And finally, I'm going to suggest to you all that you go back and reread the story before you continue on with chapter 5, because I know I've made a few changes to some of the chapters between my last proper update and now. Nothing major, but changes none-the-less. And a big thanks to all of you who are still reading and everyone who reviews, even though I've been an awful author and left you in suspense for so long. Faithful readers are hard to come by. So I thank you. Enjoy.

Draco cantered with Armand down Eagle Hawk Run, furious. He and that little trollop Granger had gotten into an argument almost as soon as he had arrived at the stable that morning. What a bitch.

Now here he was, riding out his frustrations. The air was cooler then normal for this point in the end of June, because it had rained the day before. Now the sun remained hidden behind some sparse clouds, and a cool temperature hung around in the humid air.

Draco tried to concentrate on his surroundings, but his mind kept drifting back to the argument he had had with Granger not ten minutes ago.

He had purposely bumped his shoulder into hers as he strode past her, snapping a snobby, "Watch where your going Granger," as he passed. He did this every morning he could, just to annoy her.

Normally, she just brushed him off with a scowl and an eye roll. But some bug must have crawled up her ass that morning, because she _flipped_.

She told him off in no time, demanding that he better cut the pureblood superiority crap, or she'd hex him into a puddle, Ministry be damned. This proclamation was followed by a rather vigorous spat regarding the difference between his blood and hers. This ended in him being thoroughly annoyed because she just _had_ to bring up the fact that though he may be pureblood, she had still bested him in grades and OWLS, a fact that infuriated him to no end. So he took off, cursing her and detesting stupid mudblood Gryffindors even more.

And now here he was, Armand's smooth canter taking him further into the woods. And then suddenly, they came to a jolting halt, the earth coming up to meet him at an astounding rate.

Draco hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from his lungs and his leg broke with the sickening sound of a gunshot as Armand landed on top of it. It took him a disoriented moment to figure out what had happened. Armand had slipped in the mud caused by the previous day's rain, and both horse and rider had hit the ground, Armand's weight pressing painfully down onto his left leg.

Now Armand was panicking, trying to get back up. Draco cried out in pain as his leg was pressed down on even harder by Armand's shifting weight, before the horse slipped again in the deep mud, landing on Draco's injured leg yet again.

Pain shot through his leg, and he quickly reached out and stroked the horse's neck to try and calm him as best he could, begging that he would stop moving.

After Armand tried and failed several more times to get up, he finally laid down, his head resting in the dense foliage on the side of the trail.

Draco silently thanked all the gods he could think of that Armand had stopped struggling, his mind quickly trying to come up with some sort of plan to get them out of their tricky situation.

His wand wasn't an option, not only because of his age but also because it was tucked his left boot, the one currently being pinned under his horse.

His mind raced through several more possibilities, each one increasingly pathetic, when it finally dawned on him.

_Of course!_ His whistle. Why didn't he think of that in the first place? Sandy insisted that every rider wore a loud whistle around their necks, so that someone could hear them if they were in trouble. Well, now he was in trouble all right. So he fumblingly got his whistle free from under the collar of his shirt, took a deep breath, and starting blowing SOS.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hermione turned right from Butterfly Trail onto Clayton Pass, still furious with Malfoy. The nerve of him! Acting all high and mighty, strutting around like he owned the place! Well she had had enough!

Ok, so maybe it wasn't so fair to bring up grades. She very rarely used her brains to put someone down, it just didn't seem right. Knowledge shouldn't be flaunted, knowledge should be shared. But Malfoy had just pushed her buttons too far, and she couldn't seem to stop herself. She felt slightly bad about it now, but there was no way she was apologizing to the likes of him.

Suddenly, Hermione heard a faint, far off whistle. She pulled gently back on the reins, stopping Vixen to listen. Three short blasts, three long blasts, three long blasts.

SOS! Someone was in trouble!

Hermione urged Vixen on, not daring to go any faster then a trot on the muddy trails, pulling her own whistle out of her shirt and giving one hard, long, answering blast to let the rider in trouble know she had heard them.

She rode on in the direction of the continuing whistle, hoping she could help.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Still trapped under Armand, Draco stopped blowing for a moment, straining his ears to hear a possible response to his SOS. When he heard none, he tried again, then stopped, waiting.

Yes! An answering whistle! Draco breathed a sigh of relief, then answered them with a long blast on his whistle. Now all he had to do was wait for them to reach him.

Hermione paused; trying to discern which direction the whistles were coming from.

Her left, most definitely, she decided. So they turned left onto Eagle Hawk run, where it junctioned with Apple Grove. As they neared the turn in the trail, the whistling became louder, until it was no longer necessary, she was almost right on top of them.

Finally they came around the bend, and Hermione found the last person she wanted to see lying on the ground, pinned under his horse. He was stuck in at least 5 inches of mud, which was splattered all over his shirt and face, making the normally dignified and proud Slytherin look quite ridiculous.

She couldn't help it; she laughed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Draco stared shocked at his rescuer. _Granger_, of all people! And then she laughed! She was actually _laughing_ at his predicament!

"Glad you think a broken leg is funny Granger!" he snapped at her, infuriated.

She sobered quickly, dismounting and tying Vixen securely to a nearby tree. Then she stepped gingerly through the mud towards the fallen rider.

"You're leg or Armand's?" she asked, concerned.

"Mine. Armand's not injured as far as I can tell," he replied.

"Oh, well that's ok then," she said, crouching down and stroking Armand's neck gently, her mind already working on a way to get them both out of the mud.

Draco fumed, and she looked up from Armand to her nemesis, then rolled her eyes at his angry look.

"I was _joking_ Malfoy, lighten up. Or I may very well leave you here to your own devices."

"Just get me the hell out of this Granger," he said, teeth gritted, the throbbing pain in his leg getting progressively worse.

Hermione was thinking, her mind trying ideas on how to get him out of the mud.

"Is your leg still in the stirrup?" she asked.

"I don't know. Probably."

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, "I think the reason Armand can't get up is your weight. We need you off somehow."

"I'm open to suggestions Granger," he retorted.

She threw him a glare, then continued, "Let's try undoing the saddle and trying to get him up."

Quickly, Hermione unbuckled the girth, making sure it was out of the way.

"Can you pull your leg up so it's not resting against him?" Hermione asked, tapping Draco's non-trapped leg.

Draco did as she requested, fumblingly removing his foot from the stirrup and bending it up and back.

Hermione stepped carefully through the mud to Armand's head, leaned down and grabbed his bridle, gently encouraging the big horse to get up. Slowly and carefully, Armand pulled himself free of the mud, very dirty but no worse for the wear. Hermione led him over to more solid ground, trying him up across from Vixen.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief when his mount's weight was finally off him, his head falling back against the ground, grimacing at the pain still pounding through his injured leg.

"You alright Malfoy?"

Draco opened his eyes to see Hermione bent over him, mild concern creasing her features.

"Oh I'm just swell Granger," he replied sarcastically, "just peachy. I only had a thousand pound Thoroughbred land on and break my leg, but other then that I'm terrific, how 'bout you?"

"I'm sick of your whining. So shut up and hold on to me," she quipped back, taking his arm and putting it around her shoulders, pulling him up.

Draco growled in pain, his leg completely useless as they hobbled out of the mud. Back on solid ground, Hermione wordlessly bound his leg and helped him back onto his horse.

They rode back to the stable in complete silence. Each thinking much but saying nothing.

Though neither one knew it, as they walked their mounts in silence down the trail, this one event would change everything.

**Ending notes:** I realize that I have no idea how English weather actually behaves. 0o Complete guesswork based on minimal knowledge gained from _Harry Potter_ and other British movies/books/plays, so don't fry me up _too_ badly please. Hopefully I'll be sitting down to write more of TRR soon (but not tonight). Review please, and maybe I'll be inspired to write faster… ::cheeky grin::

Cyber high five if you know what movie I'm making a partial reference to with the name "Clayton" Pass.

So… yeah. Review please!


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